A tour of South Africa by India has been confirmed, although the two nations are only set to contest three Test matches as opposed to the originally planned four.

Due to India's other commitments, they were unable to honour all four matches, so a compromise has been agreed – with an extra one-day international added to the itinerary.

That means there will be six 50-over matches, while the two sides will also meet in three Twenty20 internationals.

India are due to arrive in South Africa in late December, with the first Test in Cape Town on January 5.

"We have now finalised the fixtures for a very busy home summer of international cricket," said Cricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgat.

"The Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela Test series starts at Newlands on Friday, January 5 and will be a series to be watched as the number one and two best-ranked teams in the world challenge for the Freedom Trophy.

"The time constraints faced by India have forced us to reduce the Test matches to three while increasing white-ball cricket to six ODIs and three T20I matches."

With India unavailable for a traditional Boxing Day fixture, South Africa have put plans in place to host a day/night match over four days against neighbours Zimbabwe.

A four-day international match would be a ground-breaking event, although the organisers will have to wait until October to find out whether it will be given full Test status.

"To ensure we do not disappoint our loyal fans over the traditional Boxing Day period and to take advantage of our brand-new lights at St George's Park, we will host Zimbabwe in the first ever four-day D/N Test match to be played," added Lorgat.